1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content storage apparatus, a content storage method, a storage medium, and a program, and more particularly, a content storage apparatus, a content storage method, a storage medium, and a program, capable of storing contents in different storage areas depending on restriction on copying of contents.
2. Description of the Related Art
In current digital broadcasting, copyright information of contents is defined by a digital copy control descriptor (digital_copy_control_descriptor) inserted in PSI/SI (Program Specific Information/Service Information) (hereinafter referred to simply as SI) multiplexed in a transport stream.
Digital copy control descriptors are used by copyright holders of contents to notify receiving apparatuses of information associated with restriction on copying of contents. Copy restriction defined in copyright information described in a digital copy control descriptor has following three levels: “Copy Free” (copying is allowed with no restrictions), “Copy Never” (no copying is allowed), and “Copy Once” (only first generation copying is allowed). At present, all digital broadcast programs are set as copy-once contents.
If a copy-once content is once stored in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) of a storage apparatus, this content is defined as an one-generation-copied content and CCI for this content is changed into “Copy Never”. CCI is information stored in the storage apparatus to define copy restriction for each content.
Thereafter, although a user is allowed to play back the content from the HDD, it is not allowed to copy the content from the HDD into a DVD disk, even if the storage apparatus has a built-in DVD drive in addition to the HDD.
If many contents are stored in the HDD, the HDD will eventually have no more free storage space, because the storage capacity of the HDD is limited. To store more contents in a state in which the HDD has no more free storage space, it is necessary to delete existing contents to create a free storage space. However, a content which was set as a “Copy Never” content when it was stored in the HDD cannot be further copied to another medium such as a DVD disk, before it is deleted from the HDD.
A technique called “move” is provided to avoid the above-described problem.
In the “move” technique, a copy-once content stored in an HDD is allowed to be moved to a removable storage medium such as a DVD disk or a Blu-ray disk (trademark). However, when copying from the HDD to the removable storage medium is completed, the original content stored in the HDD is completely deleted. Thus, “move” allows a content to be moved into a removable storage medium in a usable form, although the original content is deleted from the HDD.
After a content is moved from the HDD into a removable storage medium, a user is allowed to play back the content from the removable storage medium using a proper player.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-16725 discloses a technique to perform a move process or a pause process in accordance with a Move_Pause descriptor described in a PMT (Program Map Table).